by Callan
We met Ave and Rayner, cute loving couple and proprietors of The Pigeonhole, during the very last meeting for Twestival SG 2011. Ave was a former lawyer who quit her job in pursuit of life, while Rayner formerly worked in television and retained an intimate curiosity with photography.
It took me no time at all to decide that I want to photograph both of them. Both of them are not only beautiful persons, they are also possessors of what I’d call a warm soul as well as pretty sharp minds. Not to mention they’ve got a great setup at The Pigeonhole and make a mean coffee I love. After all, why on earth would a portrait photographer not seize the chance to photograph persons who are not only good-looking, but also intrigue me mentally?
The setup was pretty simple — two speedlights shot through umbrellas, one to add context and texture to the background. I merely asked Rayner to pick up the Bronica he borrowed from his friend (“for a test drive”, he said) and had Ave pick up her favourite book (they have a ton of interesting books) and take a seat. I was not looking to take a technically perfect photograph with this one, but to let their fun side peek out just a little.
And then a little more.
But this one is my favourite of the lot, though Rayner chose the colour version.
As we Singaporeans would say, “So stylo ah!“. Indeed he is. I think we will be hanging out at The Pigeonhole a little more often now.
* Post title is in French, meaning “The Proprietors”. I don’t know French, but I know Google Translate.
Technically good images mean nothing if the personalities of the subjects do not shine thru. Nice!